Habagat to bring scattered rains across western Luzon

The Southwest Monsoon or Habagat will affect the western section of Luzon and will bring rains in the region in the next 24 hours, state weather bureau PAGASA said Wednesday.

In its 4 p.m. daily weather bulletin, PAGASA said the Ilocos Region, Apayao, Cagayan, Batanes, Zambales, Bataan, and Kalayaan Islands will experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to Habagat.

Affected residents were advised to prepare for possible flash floods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains.

Metro Manila and the rest of the country, meanwhile, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Flash floods or landslides may occur during severe thunderstorms, PAGASA said.

PAGASA is also monitoring Tropical Storm Mulan, which is outside of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). According to the weather agency, Mulan is moving northwestward at 25 kilometers per hour (km/h), carrying maximum sustained winds of 65 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 90 km/h.

As of 3 p.m. Wednesday, Mulan was spotted 1,225 kilometers west of extreme Northern Luzon.

The wind speed forecast for the western section of Luzon will be moderate to strong, while coastal water conditions will be moderate to rough, ranging from 2.1 meters to 4.0 meters.

Light to moderate wind speeds will be experienced by the rest of the country, with slight to moderate coastal water conditions ranging from 0.6 meters to 2.5 meters. — Mel Matthew Doctor/BM, GMA News